There seem to be two types of people in the world: Those who think check-ins using location-based services matter, and those who think they don’t. Much to the dismay of the latter, at the moment, location-based services are gaining traction. Fast! What seemed initially to be a frivolous plaything of over-zealous travelers and socializers is fast being leveraged by businesses (especially airlines and airports) to build their brands and provide more value to their customers while driving engagement and loyalty.

It is clear that not only are location-based services here to stay, but they are also fast becoming the next big rage in driving brand engagement. What started with services such as FourSquare, Loopt and Gowalla is now a playground where the big daddies have entered: namely, Facebook Places and Google Latitude. If nothing else, Facebook and Google’s interest in making their services location-based should offer ample proof to businesses that “check-ins” are here to stay.

But, businesses must also keep in mind that it’s not the check-ins themselves that matter. It’s what happens after the check-in that’s important. SimpliFlying has in the past written a number of articles discussing how location-based services can be leveraged by airlines and airports to drive value, and you keen watch a webinar too! What is good to keep in mind always is why and how location-based services offer value to businesses. Let me reiterate them below:

Real-time tracking of check-ins allow businesses to highly target and track their customers. They know who visited them and how many times.

Multiple check-ins are a sure shot sign of loyalty. Businesses can look to target returning customers when they check-in so that loyalty can be driven.

As we’ve written previously, setting up check-in locations with catchy messages can be a great way to spread a message far and wide at zero cost.

For airports especially, check-ins at multiple places within the airport can help you understand the movements and buying preferences of customers.

The contact with customers is more real with location-based services. Customers check-in when they’re actually at your establishment, which is more useful than them talking about your business virtually.

With these pointers in mind, we hope you enjoy our list of Top 10 Location Based Service Initiatives by Airlines which features a variety of case-studies across the globe and feature such stalwarts as Virgin America, Lufthansa, JetBlue, Southwest etc.

Shubhodeep Pal

Shubhodeep Pal is the Vice President, Products and Operations at SimpliFlying. He has been leading Research, Product Development, Marketing and Business Development since December 2010 from the headquarters in Singapore.
He has spoken at airline conferences and delivered training workshops for senior aviation executives. He has also appeared on television interviews and been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal. His writings have appeared extensively on SimpliFlying and respected industry outlets such as Airlinetrends, Tnooz, Airport World, Low Cost and Regional Airline Business Magazine and Loyalty360. In a previous role, he also conducted a workshop on social media at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore.
He speaks three languages fluently, and is also a published poet and amateur film critic.
He can be reached at shubhodeep@simpliflying.com.